Buffalo Wild Wings to NFL: Your lockout hurts us, too

Elizabeth Flores, Star TribuneKathleen Benning is the head of marketing for Buffalo Wild Wings. She spoke about how sports plays into their marketing campaign. Wild Wings is a national chain of sports bars/grills.

No company is wilder about the National Football League than Buffalo Wild Wings, whose restaurants draw flocks of fans on game days for wings and beer.

With that in mind, the St. Louis Park-based company has taken to Facebook with a petition to end the lockout that threatens to wipe out some if not all of the upcoming football season. Buffalo Wild Wings is running TV ads during the NCAA basketball tournament directing viewers to the e-petition, an effort dubbed "Save Our Season."

Stephen Anderson, a stock analyst at Miller Tabak, estimated in a research note that about 10 percent of the company's business is related to NFL game days. Anderson wrote that the potential effect of canceled games should be taken into consideration when valuing Buffalo Wild Wings' stock.

In fact, he wrote that he would consider raising his fair value estimate on the stock from $53 to $58 if the dispute were resolved before the start of the season. The stock closed Friday at $53.56.

Company officials could not be reached for comment Friday. But Buffalo Wild Wings' Facebook site says it all: "We're not taking sides. We just want a football season. So join the movement to help us insure there is one."

Payday lenders got regulators to rethink rules on how closely to vet borrowers. E-cigarette makers got a delay in federal oversight of many vaping products. Candy makers praised a decision to hold off on more stringent labeling standards. And title insurers declared "victory" for getting changes that benefited them in the tax overhaul.

The Wisconsin Assembly planned to finish its work for the year Thursday by approving $350 million to build a new prison and provide all parents a $100 per-child tax rebate, although it's uncertain whether either will pass the Senate.